News Release

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Harbor Officers Attacked by Man Wielding a Cane NR11414mf

Los Angeles: Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) patrol officers from Harbor Area were attacked by a suspect armed with a broken cane.

On August 25, 2011, just after 11:10 p.m., Harbor Area Officers responded to a radio call of a “Screaming Man’ in 100 Block of West D Street in Wilmington. When they arrived, they heard screaming coming from the rear of an apartment building. As the officers walked around to the rear of the building, they saw a man who was screaming and breaking the windows of a two- story apartment.

The officers immediately requested back up and proceeded to the apartment. Once inside, they were confronted with a man armed with a cane that had been broken at the hook and had a very sharp edge. The officers ordered the suspect to drop the sharp cane, but did not respond and instead attacked one of the officer’s by striking him repeatedly with the cane. The officers fired the TASER, which struck the suspect in the upper torso. The suspect a 30-year-old Black male, 6’ tall, 250 pounds failed to respond to the TASER and continued his attack on the officers, pinning one of the officers against the wall, while continuing to strike him with the sharp end of the cane. The partner officer at this time drew his service weapon and an officer involved shooting occurred.

The suspect went down, but still attempted to strike at the officers. The officers were able to subdue the suspect and take him into custody.

Los Angeles Fire Department personnel responded and transported the suspect to a local area hospital where he was pronounced dead.

One officer received minor injuries as a result of the incident. He was treated at the scene and released. The cane was recovered at the scene.

The investigation will ultimately be reviewed by the Chief of Police, the Office of the Inspector General and Board of Police Commissioners for compliance with the Department’s use-of-force policy which states that an officer’s use-of-force actions must be objectively reasonable.

Additionally, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Justice System Integrity Division will conduct a comprehensive review of the facts of the officer-involved shooting.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to call Harbor Area Detectives at 310-726-7906. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247). Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477). Tipsters may also contact Crime Stoppers by texting to phone number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone. All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.” Tipsters may also go to LAPDOnline.org, click on "webtips" and follow the prompts.